 |
| Common Milkweed |
When we acquired our property 10 years ago, we were surprised by the absence of the
common milkweed plant. As its 'common' name implies, it's, well, common in our part of the world. So in our effort to help restore our property to its most natural state, we scattered some milkweed seeds into some of our most disturbed areas - including around the oil well and in the eventual wildflower meadow - hoping that it would find our conditions suitable. Happily, the common milkweed, along with it's sister, the
swamp milkweed, has made our home its home.
 |
| Swamp Milkweed |
A tall and sturdy plant with thick leaves and pretty pink flowers, the milkweed is the primary food source of the beautiful
Monarch butterfly.
The plant is toxic to animals, including deer and groundhogs (who
devastate just about every other plant on our property) as well as
birds. And while the birds don't naturally eat plants, they do enjoy
caterpillars and butterflies, so ingesting the poison of the milkweed
makes Monarchs toxic to its predators. On the underside of a milkweed
leaf is the only place a Monarch will lay her eggs, so where the
milkweed thrives the Monarch thrives.
An individual Monarch assumes four distinct identities over the course of about 30 days. The egg is where it all begins for our Monarch (I shall call him Henry). Henry is laid as a single egg on the underside of one of our abundant milkweed leaves by his adult female mother, and will hatch in approximately four days. It is believed that an adult female, like Henry's mom, will lay between 100 and 300 eggs over her short life span.
 |
| Monarch caterpillar (larval stage) |
The next phase for Henry is the larval stage in which he identifies as a caterpillar. At this point in his life, Henry becomes a voracious eater with an insatiable appetite (I am reminded of my 17-year old nephew). As a caterpillar, Henry will undergo five growth spurts, as he munches milkweed leaves, outgrows his skin, and then molts into an ever larger caterpillar.
 |
| Monarch chrysalis (pupal stage) |
 |
| Henry's vacated home |
After about two weeks of munching and molting, it's time for Henry to become his next self. So with his rearmost feet, he hangs himself upside down from the underside of one of his delicious milkweed leaves, and cocoons himself up into a beautiful green pocket, called a chrysalis. This chrysalis will be his home for another week or so, within which he will undergo the most amazing of all his transformations.
As an adult male, Henry identifies as a butterfly. There will be no more growing or morphing for Henry now. Alas, he has entered his twilight years. In this last stage of his life, Henry is on the prowl for many mates (he is Henry the Monarch, after all). Unless he is from the generation of Monarchs who will
migrate to Mexico, he will spend this last phase of his interesting life - which will last about a week - impregnating females and dining on nectar to sustain his virility.
 |
| Henry |
Learn more about the complex generational aspects of Monarch butterflies, and their migration to Mexico here.
